Shaped Like Love
by The Emerald Daisy
Summary: The holidays are always toughest for Adrien since his mom left, but then again, he's never had friends like Marinette, Nino and Alya before this year. Can they help Adrien love Christmas again?


_Author's Note: Merry Christmas! This is my gift for_ _gayfairyroyalty_ _for the Miraculous Ladybug Secret Santa gift exchange! I tried to make it a good mix of fluff and friendly bonding with a little dash of angst in there! I hope you like it!_

"Mommy, Daddy, it's Christmas!" four-year-old Adrien Agreste squealed, running and jumping into the king sized bed in the middle of his parent's room. His father rolled over and groaned, putting a pillow over his head, ignoring the excited toddler. His mother, however, sat up and showered her son with kisses before getting out of bed and carrying him out of the bedroom with her.

"Adrien," Mrs. Agreste said, setting her squirming son down in front of the living room door, "what does Christmas mean?"

The little boy giggled in delight, and, clapping his hands, exclaimed:

"Presents!"

"Are you ready to see what Father Christmas brought you for being such a good little boy this year?"

Adrien could barely contain his excitement, nodding his head vigorously, bright blond hair flying around his head as he jumped up and down.

"Alright, hold Mommy's hand, let's go see what presents you got!"

And with that, she nodded and the door opened.

The living room was as picturesque as could be. Garland and lights were strung from every surface, and the room was awash with golden light. Three velvet stockings hung above the roaring fireplace, names embroidered into their plush, red fabric. In place of the usual sterile white décor were rich red rugs and emerald green pillows, and a whole craft store's worth of golden tinsel strewn across tables, chairs and couches.

The crowning glory of the room, however, was the Christmas tree. The fifteen-foot-tall tree stood proudly in the center of the room, glittering with lights and ornaments.

Greener than the thickest forest and donned with shades of gold and red, the tree was ideal, from the great bulbous ornaments to the star shining brightly at the top.

And of course, there were many presents for Adrien. Piles of wrapping paper rapidly accumulated around the two of them as Adrien tore into boxes of toys, books, clothes and candy. Mrs. Agreste made a point of reading him every card from his relatives and friends.

"Okay sweetie, last present! This one is from Mommy."

She handed him a small box wrapped in shimmering gold paper. He opened it to reveal a necklace with two enamel charms on it; a blonde woman and little boy that looked remarkably like the two of them. Adrien beamed as his mom clasped necklace around his neck. When she finished, she turned him around and gave him a big hug.

"I love you so much Adrien, never forget that, okay? Even if I'm far away, remember that I'm right here for you." She said, pointing at his heart.

"I love you too Mommy!"

"Come on, let's go eat some of those cookies we made yesterday!"

"Oka-"

Adrien paused the video as a buzzing noise droned from the alarm on his desk, informing him that it was time to head to school for the last day before winter break.

Wiping the tears from his eyes, Adrien grabbed his backpack and started down the stairs. As he passed by, he glanced into the living room. Long gone were the garland and rugs, the pillows and stockings missing from their homes. The surfaces were flat and white, not a shred of tinsel to be seen, and in the corner stood a small, artificial tree, decked only in gray ornaments that Adrien had hung on his own earlier that week. The star on top was the only decoration that remained from his childhood, a shining beacon of hope that maybe this year would be the one his mother would come back.

Adrien reached under his shirt and rubbed the charms on his necklace between his thumb and forefinger.

"I love you too, Mom."

"Alright dude, spill." Nino demanded as he sat down with Alya, Marinette and Adrien. "What's got you so down in the dumps?"

Adrien looked down at his food and sighed.

"I don't want to talk about it. "

"Is it your dad?" Alya asked between bites of her sandwich. "'Cuz I'll fight him; you know I will. "

Adrien smiled weakly and shook his head.

"It's not my dad." He mumbled. "It's my mom. "

"Oh." Said Nino, nodding sympathetically.

"Christmas was her favorite time of year, and we used to do all sorts of holiday stuff together. Baking cookies, decorating, presents. . ." He trailed off. "Without her it just isn't the same."

Marinette turned and put a hand on Adrien's shoulder.

"Maybe-" she said hesitantly, as an idea took shape in her head. "What if we did a Christmas celebration. A party, with just the four of us? It won't be the same, but we can decorate a tree and exchange gifts. I'm sure my parents would make us cookies. That is, uh, if you wanted to, at least. "

Marinette startled as Adrien turned in his seat and hugged her.

"You guys would really do that for me?" He asked, looking to Nino and Alya for confirmation.

"Of course!" Nino said enthusiastically. Alya nodded and gave a thumbs up.

"It'll be fun!" Alya said as she and Nino wrapped their arms around their friends.  
"And besides, we love you Adrien, we don't want you to be sad during the holidays!"

"This is gonna be the coolest Christmas party ever!" Nino stood up and pumped his fist in the air as he spoke. "Operation Help Adrien Have an Awesome Christmas is a go!"

Everyone laughed, including Adrien, who excitedly began to help plan for the party.

Adrien fidgeted with the presents he was holding as he waited for Marinette to answer the door. He had been anxiously waiting for the party ever since they had begun planning for it.

At the sound of the lock clicking, Adrien straightened and smiled as Marinette opened the door.

"Hey Adrien, come in!" She said, stepping aside for him to walk through.

As the door shut behind him, he noticed Alya and Nino waiting nearby. Alya blindfolded him as Nino took the box with his gifts in it away from him.

Someone grabbed his hand and they started moving towards where, Adrien assumed, the party was going to be.

They stopped almost as soon as they started and his friends turned him slightly to face the surprise.

"Are you ready?" The asked in unison.

Adrien nodded and the blindfold came off.

The room was filled with blankets and pillows, all decorated with some kind of Christmas motif. A box overflowing with ornaments and tinsel sat next to a bare Christmas tree, and there was a tray of cookies and other treats that appeared to be from the Dupain-Cheng's bakery sitting on the coffee table. Fairy lights were strung around the top of the room, giving off a warm glow. Christmas music played over a video of a Yule log burning on the TV. Under it, there hung four stockings, embroidered with each of the four friends' names.

Adrien turned around to face his friends.

"You guys did all of this?"

The three of them nodded excitedly.

"Do you like it?" Nino asked.

"I love it, thank you!"

"Alright!" Alya exclaimed. "Come on, we have a tree to decorate!"

Once the tree had been decorated and many mugs of hot cocoa, courtesy of Marinette's parents, had been drunk, the four friends were ready to open gifts.

Alya handed out the presents, and they each took turns opening all of their gifts.

"Oh Adrien, I love it!" Alya exclaimed as she opened the box to find a case for her phone that had different photography attachments built into it.

"This is really too much…" Marinette said, in awe of the bolt of expensive fabric she had unwrapped.

"Dude, this is sick!" Nino rushed to plug the soundboard into his phone as he spoke, immediately beginning to tap out Little Father Christmas with the different sound effects.

After the others had finished opening their gifts it was Adrien's turn.

Adrien looked down at the three square boxes in his lap, and then gently pulled the ribbon off of each one. Inside each box was an enamel charm shaped like the corresponding friend.

Adrien felt tears well up in his eyes at the familiar sight.

"How did you know?" He asked. "I've never shown you my necklace."

"Marinette called Nathalie to ask what your mom used to do for Christmas, so we could try and match it. She sent us a video from when you were little and…"

Marinette picked up when Alya trailed off.

"We thought that maybe we could- well, no that's not right, uh-" Marinette took a breath. "We wanted you to know that we're always here for you too. And that if you want, we can be your family too. "

The tears that had been threatening to spill began to fall from Adrien's eyes as he took his necklace off and carefully added the new charms to it.

"I love it. Thank you guys. For everything."

"Come here!" Nino said, dragging Adrien over to the girls.

"Group hug!" Alya shouted as she and Marinette wrapped their arms around the boys.

Adrien smiled. With friends like these, he could definitely see himself looking forward to Christmas again. And even if his mom didn't come back this year, it would still be a Christmas to remember.


End file.
